NEW ORLEANS _ There would be no last-minute saves for the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans combination of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday made sure of that.
The Pelicans duo combined for 55 points at Smoothie King Center, as the Pistons started the month of March with a whimper in a 109-86 loss.
The Pelicans didn't miss newly acquired center DeMarcus Cousins, who was serving a one-game suspension for picking up his 18th technical foul of the season Sunday.
Pistons center Andre Drummond was ejected in the third quarter after receiving a flagrant foul-2, and the Pistons were 3-for-17 from the free-throw line (Drummond was 1-for-10). The 17.6 percent free-throw effort for the Pistons is the worst in NBA history since free throws were charted in 1963-64, according to ESPN. The Pistons were also 3-for-23 from 3-point range.
Davis got the Pelicans (24-38) off to a good start with 24 of his 33 points in the first half.
And Holiday scored at will in the second half with 16 of his 22 points.
Jon Leuer scored 22 points for the Pistons (29-32), who remain one game in front of the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff spot. Drummond finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds.
The Pistons just completed an 8-4 month of February.
The Pistons' bench, led by point guard Ish Smith, didn't have it on a night starting point guard Reggie Jackson was ineffective once again.
Stan Van Gundy got a time-out at the 5:03 mark of the first quarter after the Pelicans went on an 8-0 to take a 16-12 lead.
The Pelicans built the lead at the foul line with an 8-for-8 performance early.
Jackson picked up two fouls early, so Smith came in a bit earlier than normal.
The Pelicans extended the run to 12-0 to take a 20-12 lead.
Davis was dominant from the outset and his 16 points pushed the Pelicans to a 31-18 lead after the first quarter.
Leuer was able to take advantage of Pelicans switching on pick-and-rolls. He would rise up over the shorter defender for easy jumpers.
He scored 16 points in the first half, and the Pistons outscored the Pelicans by 10 in the second quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 53-50.
Davis scored 24 points in the first half.
The Pelicans pushed the lead to 73-60 at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter on a fast-break dunk from Solomon Hill.
After a short 7-0 run from the Pistons, Drummond got into a heated confrontation with Pelicans guard Tim Frazier.
After a Frazier steal, Drummond and Frazier both held onto the basketball. After a few choice words, Drummond shoved Frazier away around the head and face area, earning an automatic flagrant-foul and immediate ejection.
A Frazier layup pushed the lead to 78-67, but a Marcus Morris 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer narrowed the deficit to 78-70 going into the fourth quarter.
